Inhumanism and the End of Ethics
This is a continuation of something I said more or less in passing here a few weeks ago, that the end of the human is the end of the moral.
"I once said to my boss, by way of making an excuse for a long
and rambling email I had just sent her, that sometimes I
don’t really know what I think until I’ve written it
down…." (read more)
“the end of the human is the end of the moral”–good one.
i’ve always wondered at how people who deny the existence of a god (or God, for that matter) can’t see the subjectivity of the so-called morals they cling to. without God, how can there be right and wrong? what’s the point?
but then, they are in denial…
by the way, lovely dog. yours?
Yep, my (our) dog. You want her? She’s pretty and well-behaved, but she has this body odor problem that I can’t seem to fix, and we can’t keep her outside and don’t have the heart to get rid of her. Well, won’t keep her outside–she’d just be cooped up in a small fenced area.
A lot of atheists get really put out when challenged that way on the foundations of morality. In my experience they usually don’t really address the question, though (except the occasional brave soul like Nietzche). Instead they turn it into a personal thing: “I don’t need any fairy-tale threats to force me to be good.”
a dog with a body odor problem. i’ve never heard of that. i’ll probably ask the vet about this if i can. what did hers say?
yes, she is pretty, and she does look well-behaved. i really can’t have her though; we have three dogs already, and a new litter is on the way. the budget is a bit tight as it is, hehe. (and, as i live outside the u.s., coming over to pick her up might prove to be rather difficult :-) )
she really is lovely, i hope the problem gets fixed.
i’ve never read nietzche’s works. but if his rambling crackpot fans correctly represent his claims…
“i don’t need fairy-tale threats to force me to be good.” depending on my mood, i guess, these statements (if you could call them that!) either bore me numb or drive me nuts!
Part of the dog’s problem was a disgusting skin condition. The vet gave us some medicinal shampoo that mostly cleared that up but she still smells bad. I also use a deodorizing soap (can’t remember the name of it) which helps. But she still smells bad, and washing her is a lot of trouble. I think the smell mainly comes from her very oily, practically waterproof coat. What she really needs is a lot of open space and a bunch of kids to play with her.
Regarding “these statements”: the majority of people I’ve talked to who say this kind of thing, and there have been a lot of them over the years, are nice people without a very strong sense of how rotten people can really be. In spite of their tendency to emphasis understanding other people, they’re really rather provincial.
There used to be a consensus on most basic values in our culture, which was shared by religious people and not-so-religious people. That was pretty much shattered by the abortion debate (also the pornography, “free love” (a quaint old phrase), etc., debates).
Stinky dogs aside, I have always been able to dialogue about morality with secularists, perhaps there is a residual common sense about certain fundamental truths, perhaps not many people, aside from professional ethicists, are unwilling to follow ideas to their logical conclusion.
The exception to this is the question of the whole question of euthanasia, of refusing to take life even when that life is destined to hopeless suffering. This makes no sense at all without an appeal to the theological meaning of suffering.
It occurs to me that this is perhaps John Paul II’s last gift to humanity as his health deteriorates, this witness to the inherant spiritual power of suffering.
Oops; that is what I get for posting without previewing. That should have read “not many people are WILLING”, etc. And the second “question” is redundant. Sorry.
oh…yeah, wide spaces and kids to play with her–i agree.
yes, you’re right, a lot of them are “nice”, but have little or no idea about real good and evil. and yeah, they like to think they know everybody’s mind and heart.
it seems a lot of secularists are quite ruled by their emotions, and so they do things according to what they feel is right. which is probably why “not many are willing to follow their ideas to their logical conclusion.” at least that’s what i think.